“Move faster, you piece of shit!”

I slam the gas pedal to the floor while cursing the car out. I had no room to legitimately complain, given I’d stolen the damn thing, but I could barely keep up. Blinking in the rearview mirror, I saw the city lights fade away as we took one last turn toward the place of nightmares: The swamps.

Dust flew up from the tires ahead, pulling a hacking cough from my lungs as the particles fly in through the broken window. The best I could I throw a hand up to shield my eyes, but the tail lights ahead fade out of sight. Fuck! I set my head on a swivel in search of anywhere they could pull off of the road. If I don’t find Reina now, I’ll never get her back.

I look to the side, and in the passing light of my headlights, metal shone in the woods. I slam on the brakes, sending me hurtling against the steering wheel as the car skid to a sudden halt. I’m dazed, and slightly confused, but I wrench so hard on the door handle it comes free in my hand. I slam my boot against the door, shoving it open the rest of the way.

I jump out and rush to the car, my hands slamming against the hood to slow my hasty skid. No one is inside. “Reina!” I yell at the top of my lungs, even though it won’t do her any good. What the hell is she going to do, hear it and come running? A breath pushes out from my lungs as I dig my heel into the dirt and run.

Voices prick my ears. They’re far off, and I’m not certain what they’re saying, but it’s enough for me. They must have her, and there’s no way I’m about to let them get away with it.

“Reina!” I scream again. “I’m coming!” Instinctively, I know it’s not smart to announce that to the bastards who took her, but I swear I can taste her fear. I try to focus my attention in an attempt to decipher her voice among the orchestra of sounds, but between the highway and the and wildlife, my senses couldn’t make her out.

I crash into the dark, grasping at vines and leaves as I hurl myself forward. I don’t know where I’m going, and I have to blink several times to keep focus. Suddenly, I plunge forward, grasping for anything to grab but catch nothing but air. Water splashes up around me, and I’m so surprised, I inhale sharply, aspirating my lungs with musky swamp.

I cough hard, the muscles in my chest constricting as I scramble in the muck to get back to my feet. The airs thick and something slimy sticks to the side of my face, but I have to keep going. I push myself, trudging as quickly as possible through the knee-deep swamp toward the far-off sound of a struggle. Reina.

I’m already strangling her attackers in my mind when a scurried motion in the water ahead pulls me to a sudden stop. Water splashes, and I swear I can see something moving under the surface, but I don’t smell any humans or other vampires, at least not this close.

A spine, craggy and pointed, like a series of mini shark fins crests the water and sends me bolting for dry land. Except, there isn’t any. Fuck. I’ve never fought anything in my life. I scramble hard to reach a tree branch or anything to pull me from the disgusting muck. A shiver runs down my spine as fallen branches snap and water is thrown every which way by my sudden chaser. Ahead, I see a patch of dry earth and a hefty tree with low enough branches. I hope it’s enough.

I lunge myself forward, grasping at the tree and hauling myself up without a single glance back. If I do, I know I’ll end up dinnertime for some massive gator. I don’t stop climbing until I’m hanging precariously from thinning branches, and then I dare look down. Sure, I’m stronger and faster, but I’m basically a newborn vampire. I don’t know my limitations, and I’m too insecure to do anything risky.

The gators staring up at me. The damn thing snaps his jaw, flashing teeth that seemed to glisten in what little moonlight hung overhead. “Go! Fuck off!” I scream at the creature as snippets of muffled screams reach my ears. Reina needs me, and I’m trapped in a goddamned tree.

I wrench branches free and start hurling them at the alligator, careening them off the top of his head with a vengeance. Still hungry, and probably angry from my attack, he turns and slinks back into the water. I breathe out a sigh of relief, before making my way back to solid ground. Now, I’m afraid to even blink.

I race toward the faint sounds of Reina’s cries with such speed, there’s no way they can’t hear me coming. Water splashes with every slam of my boot, and my lungs burn by the time I stumble upon the sight of her. Two bastards have Reina by the throat, and she trashes under their hold. She can’t match their strength, and her lashes lift in a pleading look of desperation that seizes my dead heart.

Vampires. My teeth grit in anger as a third enemy comes barreling toward me.

I have no idea who he is or what part he played, but I don’t care. The moment he draws near enough I throw an unexpected punch that hits square across his jaw. His breath exits swiftly from his lungs as he tumbles across the ground, but it wasn’t enough, he still gets back up.

“Let her go!” I scream at him, as if my words will have an effect. They don’t.

He lunges at me, grappling my shoulders and sending me slamming into the ground with him on top of me. His eyes flash silver, and for some reason, the sight enrages me. At one another, we fight for supremacy, but I can’t find him off, not enough. His hands wrap around my neck, cutting off my supply of air and darkening what was already a dim light from above.

Fear becomes my ultimate emotion. Fear that I would die in the swamp, and fear that I let Reina down.

Dots dance across my vision, but I’m not ready to give up yet. I can’t move my head under his restrictive hold, but my eyes drift to either side in search of anything I can use. Out beside me I stretch my arm, grasping up a thick branch that had fallen from above.

There was no warning. I swing my arm up and slam the back of his head, loosening his grip enough to shove him off. More footsteps scramble toward me, but I jump up and throw mercy out the window. I slam the man two more times over the head, rendering him unmoving and freeing me up to focus on what mattered: Reina. At least, until I look up.

More rush at me, distracting me enough that I can’t find Reina in the fray. My grip on the branch tightens, and I swing it without abandon. I’m pissed, and that seething anger fuels me as I slam my makeshift weapon off of one man’s shoulder and cap the next woman across the knee.

“Take that, bastards!” I scream at them as I lift the branch overhead to take out the woman. Her eyes widen before something constricts my wrists and yanks me over so hard I hit the ground and nearly pass out. I groan in agony and pull on my arms, but they’re held too tight.

My vision settles again, and I look up to see the same woman staring down at me. I want to punch her so badly, but I feign ignorance and wait for her to come closer. The moment she does, I read my leg back and kick, slamming her square in the gut. Spit flew from her lips as she flew back, but it only pissed off whoever was holding me down even more.

Somewhere beyond the trees, Reina screams. The horrified sound jerks me awake, and pulls a guttural roar from the depths of my throat. I won’t give up without a fight. I wrench hard, loosening my captor’s grip as more boots slosh through water and crash along the high ground. I can’t see, not with my back still square on the ground, but I fear the worst. I can’t take on more.

“Over here!”

The familiar sound snaps my head up in search before a hand wrenches around my throat.

“Carver!” I croak out as I claw in desperation for a solid breath. Into flesh my nails dig, but it seems to do me no good. Against the decaying leaves I thrash my feet to draw as much attention to myself as possible.

Out of nowhere, a blur shoves the man off of me, his grip wrenching me in a sideways tumble. Mud flies into my mouth, leaving me spitting the disgusting taste out as a sudden grip on my hand wrenches me to my feet. It’s Row, and a quick spin reveals Carver tackling with another vampire.

“Reina,” I spit out. “They took Reina that way!” I jam my finger toward where I last saw her and set off at a sprint. I see her then, trembling under a hold she couldn’t escape. Together, we rush in, but there are more vampires than I recall seeing. They charge at us, and I lost my makeshift weapon in the struggle. I’m left with nothing but my hands.

My lips curl in anger, and I lash out at the first vampire to come near. I tackle him to the ground, clawing at his exposed skin and slamming his head into the ground the best I can. He’s strong, and resilient, and I catch a hook to the jaw that makes my head pound.

I can hear Carver and Row giving the fight their all, and still Reina’s whimpering screams tear at my heart. Around the man’s skull my hands wrap, and with one last slam against the ground, I watch as his eyes roll into the back of his head. He won’t stay down forever, but it’s enough.

I jump up, just in time to see Row wrench Reina’s captor away. I rush toward her and yank her into my arms. She’s crying, and I pull my fingers down her hair to try and soothe her nerves. She never asked for any of this.

“You’re fine now,” I say, but I grow less certain of it as three more vampires show up from seemingly nowhere at all. I shove Reina behind me and lift my bloodied knuckles in wait. Toward us a nasty, thick-headed man stalked with a deadly desire in his eyes. I swallow hard and try to force my focus when another figure darts in front of me, blocking my view.

I know from the jet-black hair immediately that it’s Lucian. With one split second to spare, he glances over his shoulder at me with a softness that seems ill-placed for a fight. He charges with the glinting knife from his pocket.

I reach back and grasp at Reina’s hand, holding it tight as Lucian charged the man with a hurl of the blade, and sunk it straight into his throat. In a gurgle of breath, the man slumped, falling to his knees with a solid thud. I wince away, just in time to feel my arms grasped in a sudden wrench that made my grip on Reina’s hand fail. “Reina!”

She was my first and only thought, rather than me caring about myself. That’s why I was so confused when the world seemed to come to a standstill, and everyone turned to stare at me. Then, I felt the cold steel of a blade that pressed tight to my throat.

I searched in desperation with a dart of my eyes alone for some sort of salvation. Row and Carver stood off in the shadows unmoving and uncertain, and the moment Lucian took a single step toward me, the blade pushed hard enough to leave me holding my breath. I shook my eyes at him the best I could, asking him to come no further.

Leaves rustled nearby, snapping everyone’s attention but my own. I can barely make out the figure of a woman in the corner of my vision.

“Carvell Marceau,” she says, “Longtime no see.”